Masers, lasers, and strange attractors

A description is given of a special class of solutions of nonlinear equations which are called strange attractors. This description is based on an analysis of dynamic conditions in quantum oscillators (masers and lasers). Examples are given of other systems in whose dynamics a strange attractor can play an important role. In particular, attention is drawn to the fact that a molecule interacting with laser radiation and with other molecules is not a conservative system and a strange attractor may play an important role in the processes of distribution of the absorbed energy between the various degrees of freedom of the molecule.